Disguised As A Boy To Attend Belmont High School
Chapter 55: Partnership In Jeopardy

Chapter 55: Partnership In Jeopardy

The room temperature had dropped, and there was a palpable tension between Olive and Lucas.

Olive chose to remain silent, refusing to respond to Lucas’s questions.

"You’re not going to answer me now?" Lucas finally inquired, reaching out to touch Olive’s face, only to have his hand pushed away.

"Don’t touch me. Your act won’t work on me anymore. I know you’ve been pretending all this time," Olive snapped, her voice dripping with venom, causing a smirk to form on Lucas’s face.

"I’m just here to ask if you’re still planning to participate in the debate competition. I heard it starts tomorrow. I won’t be able to play rugby due to my injury, so you’ll have to find someone else," she added, maintaining eye contact with Lucas.

"I have decided not to take part in the debate competition," Lucas announced, sending a shock through Olive.

"What? Why the sudden change of heart? Don’t forget, I still have that video of you bullying someone," Olive threatened, her body tense with anger.

Lucas chuckled at Olive’s threat. "Do you really think I care about a silly video?"

’Mark was right afterall. Lucas didn’t agree to my terms because of the video, but for another reason. What could it be?’ Olive wondered, her expression turning somber.

"Why did you agree to join the debate competition if the video doesn’t bother you? What are you up to?" Olive demanded, her voice laced with anger.

"I’ve been waiting for this moment. I on

ly agreed to participate in the debate to disappoint you on the final day. I didn’t want you to team up with someone else, so I agreed just to let you down in front of the audience," Lucas revealed, a smirk playing on his lips.

How dare you! Olive yelled as she struck Lucas on the chest, only to have her hand grabbed. "You’re so despicable," she said.

"Yes, I am. So just leave me alone!" Lucas yelled, his eyes filled with anger.

Tears welled up in Olive’s eyes, but she tried to hold them back as she walked out of the special room, slamming the door behind her.

As Olive left the room, the tears she had been holding back began to flow down her cheeks. She knelt in front of the door, ignoring the pain in her knees as she cried uncontrollably.

"What am I going to do now?" Olive thought, her heart aching with each tear.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked. It was Mark.

Olive quickly wiped away her tears, looked up at him, and stood up. "I’m fine," she replied with a forced smile.

"Here, I thought you might need some cold coffee to calm down after that intense conversation with Lucas in there," Mark said, handing Olive a cup of coffee. She took it gratefully and started sipping.

"I really need this. Thanks Mark. Olive said and continued to sip her coffee.

"So, what did Lucas say? Is he still going to participate in the competition?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"No! He was actually waiting for this moment to tell me he wouldn’t be participating in the competition to make me lose the scholarship. He’s a devil," Olive spat, her voice filled with anger as she tightened her grip on the coffee cup, causing the contents to spill on the tiled floor.

"Be careful, buddy!" Mark said as he quickly brought out a tissue. "Thank goodness the coffee isn’t hot, or you would have burned yourself."

"Thanks, Mark," Olive replied as she collected the handkerchief and wiped off the spilled coffee from her hand while Mark cleaned the spilled coffee with a mop off the ground.

"I was already expecting this, Lucas refusing to participate in the debate competition at the last minute," Mark sighed as he rested his back against the wall. "So what are you going to do? Are you going to give up?"

"I’m not the kind of person who gives up easily," Olive said with a heavy sigh. "I’m sure there’s a way."

"What way?" Mark asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity as he gazed at Olive.

"I can speak for both sides, right? As long as I can portray the information, I’m sure I can speak for and against the motion," Olive said excitedly. "I don’t need Lucas."

"It’s not possible, Olive. A student has to speak for one side while another has to speak against. They’re not going to change the rules just because your partner refuses to participate; instead, they’ll want you to back off," Mark said. "I know this competition means a lot to you, but what can we do now that fate has decided to play against you?"

"What if I be your partner?" a voice asked, and Mark and Olive’s gaze fell on Desmond. "Can I please be your teammate? I also want to win a scholarship."

"You think returning to school means you can do whatever you want. The competition is created by the George family. You know how much Lucas hates you; why do you even think of participating in his family competition?" Mark questioned, a smirk appearing on his face. "I’d say you have a death wish."

"Although the George family organized this competition, they are not the judges. So I can participate and win," Desmond chimed in with a determined expression.

"Damn! This guy really wants to die," Mark expressed his frustration with a loud groan. "Do I need to knock some sense into you? Just stay away from Lucas and his family, or you’ll regret it."

"I never knew the George family was responsible for organizing this competition. But since they’re not the judges, the results of the competition would be fair, and the right winners would be selected without any partiality or hatred towards anyone," Olive said, a wide smile appearing on her face. "Desmond and I can work together," she declared.

"What the heck! This is a very bad idea, to be honest. I don’t support this, Arthur. You’re in this mess because you spoke up for this guy, and now you want him to be your teammate," Mark said with an unbelieving expression.

"Lucas thinks he can control me just because he said I shouldn’t speak to someone and I did, which is why he gave me a red card. Alright, now that I’m joining forces with his enemy, he might as well give me another red card. I won’t bow down to him or anyone," Olive declared, her expression serious.

Mark could only express his frustration with continuous sighs as he was at a loss for words.

"We have to let Mr. James know about us working together now so that he can know what names to submit for the competition," Desmond said, while Olive nodded in agreement as they both made their way to Mr. James’s office, leaving Mark dumbfounded.